Tetro

For people with the surname Tetro, seeTetro (surname).

Tetrois a 2009drama filmwritten, directed, and produced byFrancis Ford Coppolaand starringVincent Gallo,Alden EhrenreichandMaribel Verdú.Filming took place in 2008 inBuenos Aires,Patagonia,and Spain. Aninternational co-productionbetween the United States, Argentina, Spain and Italy,the film received alimited theatrical releasein the U.S. on June 11, 2009.

Tetro
Promotional release poster
Directed by	Francis Ford Coppola
Written by	Francis Ford Coppola
Produced by	Francis Ford Coppola
Starring	Vincent Gallo Alden Ehrenreich Maribel Verdú Klaus Maria Brandauer Carmen Maura
Cinematography	Mihai Mălaimare Jr.
Edited by	Walter Murch
Music by	Osvaldo Golijov
Distributed by	American Zoetrope(United States) Alta Films (Spain) BiM Distribuzione (Italy)
Release dates	May 14, 2009(2009-05-14)(Cannes) June 11, 2009(2009-06-11)(United States) June 26, 2009(2009-06-26)(Spain) November 20, 2009(2009-11-20)(Italy)
Running time	127 minutes
Countries	United States Argentina Spain Italy
Languages	English Italian Spanish
Box office	$2.9 million

Plot

Shortly before his eighteenth birthday, Bennie Tetrocini, son of abusive, famous conductor Carlo Tetrocini, runs away from his prep school and gets a job as a cruise line waiter. His ship breaks down inBuenos Aires,the home of his half-brother Angelo, who left the family when Bennie was young to pursue his writing. Angelo's mother Angela died in a car accident, and Bennie's mother has been comatose for almost a decade.

Bennie finds that Angelo, who insists on being called "Tetro", is argumentative, demands he leave as soon as the ship is fixed, and refuses to acknowledge them as brothers, but his girlfriend Miranda, a psychiatrist who met him when he was institutionalized, is welcoming. When she mentions Angela's death, Bennie deduces that Tetro was driving when she died. On Bennie's birthday, Tetro explains that a play he wrote was about their family and featured Carlo and his mentor brother Alfie, also a conductor, who he abandoned after finding success and pressured to conduct under a different last name.

Bennie finds Tetro's script, written in code they both learned in prep school, and transcribes the part about Carlo and Alfie. He attends a burlesque production ofFausthosted at Tetro's friend José's theater, for which Tetro is doing lighting. Tetro fights with actor and playwright Abelardo when he heckles the script, only to be interrupted by influential critic and his former mentor "Alone" arriving, who he had a falling out with. Bennie gives Miranda one of Carlo's CDs, breaking Tetro's rule that he does not discuss their past, and in the ensuing argument, Bennie points out that Tetro broke his promise to come back and take him away from Carlo.

He transcribes the part of the play where Tetro leaves the family when Carlo, believing Bennie is the only artist of his sons, refuses to support his writing. Miranda finds Bennie transcribing the pages. While walking José's girlfriend's puppy, Bennie saves it from being hit by a car and his struck by a motorbike in the process. He misses his ship while hospitalized and Tetro lets him keep living with him, while Miranda sneaks him the play. Carlo has a stroke and the family asks the brothers to come home, which Tetro refuses to do.

Bennie transcribes the part of the play about how Tetro's girlfriend Naomi was stolen from him by Carlo, and has a dream inspired by a letter she wrote Tetro where she and Carlo performCoppéliawith her as the titular character and him as Dr. Coppélius. Tetro walks in on him writing and has a violent fight with him, after which Miranda reluctantly tells him he can no longer live with them. Bennie moves in with Abelardo, where he begins writing a short play entitledWander Lustthat is largely adapted from Tetro's script. He submits it to a festival Alone runs inPatagoniaand is accepted as a finalist, hoping that it will stoke Tetro's pride enough for him to officially co-publish it and take credit for his writing, which he does.

As the brothers, Miranda, aFaustactress and her niece drive to the festival, Bennie loses his virginity to the actresses and Tetro vanishes right before the show. AsWander Luststarts, Tetro appears outside the festival and calls Bennie to him, admitting that he is actually his father and Naomi is his mother, who tried to commit suicide after telling Tetro and Carlo about Bennie's parentage, putting herself in a coma. Wanting to fulfill the play's ending where Tetro kills Carlo, he asks Bennie to kill him but is refused. Alone comes outside to congratulate Tetro, who rejects her praise and loses his shot at winning the top prize.

Carlo dies and his funeral is held in Buenos Aires, where Tetro takes hisbatonfrom his corpse and presents it to Alfie. Bennie shows up dressed like Tetro as Alfie, unwilling to forgive Carlo, snaps the baton. Bennie reveals his true heritage to Miranda and the family before starting a fire, running past Tetro as he exits. He wanders into traffic and waits for a car to hit him, but Tetro rescues and embraces him, accepting him as his son and promising that "we're a family."

Cast

• Vincent Galloas Tetro, the protagonist. Coppola said of his casting choice, "I know choosing Vincent Gallo to star in my film will raise a few eyebrows, but I'm betting that seeing him in the role will open some eyes."Prior to Gallo,Matt DillonandJoaquin Phoenixwere up for the role.
• Alden Ehrenreichas Bennie, Tetro's younger brother
• Maribel Verdúas Miranda, Tetro's girlfriend
• Silvia Pérez as Silvana
• Rodrigo de la Sernaas José
• Érica Rivasas Ana
• Sofia Galaas Maria Luisa
• Carmen Mauraas Alone, a literary critic and Tetro's mentor.The character was originally written to be male, and actorJavier Bardemwas previously attached to the role. Coppola explained the change in gender, "As I read and reread (the script), I felt that the interaction between the two characters would be far more intriguing if they were of the opposite sex."
• Klaus Maria Brandaueras Alfie/Carlo Tetrocini, Tetro's father
• Mike Amigorenaas Abelardo
• Lucas Di Conza as Young Tetro
• Adriana Mastrángelo as Angela
• Francesca De Sapioas Amalia
• Leticia Brédiceas Josefina
• Susana Giménezas Herself

Production

In February 2007,Francis Ford Coppolaannounced that he would produce and direct the filmTetro,based on a script that he had written while editingYouth Without Youth(2007). Production was scheduled to begin inBuenos Aires,Argentinain late 2007.Coppola was attracted to Argentina as a location, "I knew Argentina has a great cultural, artistic, literary, musical, cinema tradition, and I like those kinds of atmospheres very much because you usually find creative people to work with."Production did not begin as scheduled, and by March 2008,Vincent GalloandMaribel Verdújoined the cast.The Spanish company Tornasol Films and the Italian company BIM Distribuzione signed with the director to co-produce the film.Production began on March 31, 2008, with a budget of $5 million,with Coppola using the production style similar to his previous filmYouth Without Youth.Filming took place inLa Bocain Buenos Aires and other parts of the capital city. Filming also followed in the Andean foothills inPatagoniaand at theCiudad de la Luzstudios inAlicante,Spain.Production concluded in June.

In May 2008, during filming in Argentina, the Argentina Actors Association, an actors' union, claimed that production ofTetrowas shut down due to union members working on the film without a contract. According toThe Hollywood Reporter,"Local press reports say that script changes and communication problems between the multi-national cast and crew have extended filming days beyond regularly scheduled hours, and that some of the Argentine actors are still not certain of their salary." The director's spokesperson, Kathleen Talbert, denied that production was halted, saying, "There are no holds on shooting, no problem with actors. In fact, the majority of the Argentine actors have already wrapped the shooting."By the end of the month, the union said the issue was resolved, reporting, "The lawyers for the producers presented the necessary documentation and recognized the errors that they had made. So now they are able to continue with production." In contrast, Talbert reiterated that there had been no issue, and production was never halted.

Interview with Francis Ford Coppola & Alden Ehrenreich atSIFF

The entire project was edited usingFinal Cut ProonApple Maccomputers in a specially designed large screen edit suite built by Masa Tsuyuki.

The cast includesRodrigo de la Serna,Leticia Brédice,Mike Amigorenaand Jean-Francois Casanovas.The film features a briefcameoby Argentine film starSusana Giménezin her first performance after a ten-year hiatus from film acting.

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. OnMetacritic,the film has an average score of 65/100 based on 26 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".Rotten Tomatoesreported a 71% approval rating, based on 110 reviews with an average score of 6.40/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "A complex meditation on family dynamics,Tetro's arresting visuals and emotional core compensate for its uneven narrative. "

Roger Ebertof theChicago Sun-Timesgave the film 3 stars, praising the film for being "boldly operatic, involving family drama, secrets, generations at war, melodrama, romance and violence". Ebert also praised Vincent Gallo's performance and stated Alden Ehrenreich "inspires such descriptions as 'the newLeonardo DiCaprio' ".Todd McCarthy ofVarietygave the film a B+ judging that "when [Coppola] finds creative nirvana, he frequently has trouble delivering the full goods."Richard CorlissofTimemagazine gave the film a mixed review, praising Ehrenreich's performance, but claiming Coppola "has made a movie in which plenty happens but nothing rings true."

Tetrowas sixth on the 2009Cahiers du cinémaTop Ten list.

In 2024, Francis Ford Coppola revealed during an interview withRolling StonethatTetrowasn't meant to be successful but a "test" for himself to teach him what really means making a movie, as he had "sort of retired" from being a professional director sinceThe Rainmaker(1997) and instead be a student who could discover what making movies consisted by self-financing "very small, low-budget" films and even organizing unusual rehearsals during which he learned a lot about acting. This was in order for Coppola to prepare himself for the development of his longtime passion projectMegalopolis(2024).

External links

• TetroatIMDb
• TetroatRotten Tomatoes